05 May Recap | James | Playing God

This weekend Matt taught out of James chapter 4, verses 11 and 12. In these two verses, James addresses the issue of judgment within believers of the church. The word judgment is used to convey several ideas in the Bible, including God’s condemnation or His discipline. In this passage, the word judgment is used to mean discipline. James is telling believers to not “speak evil” against other believers. “Speaking evil” includes casting judgment or being critical. James is not saying we should be passive and ignore sin in others (Matthew 18:15-17), he is saying to not be critical of others regarding amoral issues.

James is specifically addressing believers judging other believers. This is a crucial point because speaking evil against a believer means also judging God’s law. If someone is a believer, they have been approved and justified by God, but if you judge or disapprove of that person, you are also disagreeing with their approval by God. You are saying that God’s declaration of righteousness is not good enough.

Often, Christians are tempted by a desire to be better than those around them. We compare areas where we are strong against others’ weak areas. Romans 14 provides a reminder that we must be careful with certain freedoms. Modesty, alcohol consumption, and many other amoral issues are often areas where one believer may be freer in their actions than another. However, both groups of believers must be careful not to judge the other group for their actions. God alone has the authority to judge.

Another point James makes is that only God is able to save and destroy. Personal feelings or convictions on an issue cannot save or destroy your fellow believer. God wants YOU to deal with YOUR sins and convictions, not convince your fellow believer of how they should be convicted. Romans 14:8-13 reminds us that we all must give an account of ourselves to the Lord. So do not worry about the amoral actions of your neighbor, they will stand before God one day, as will you.

It is important to remember that there are fundamental issues that the Church does not waver on, such as the Trinity and Jesus’ divinity and eminent return. However, there are secondary issues that may present differences in opinion and belief. The Church needs to be united, but does not need to be uniform. Unity allows for there to be connection on the major issues, but also provides variation and slight tension between ideas that causes learning and deep thinking to occur.

Goals

• Be considerate with your freedoms. Show wisdom and discretion in how you live.
• Know that it is not your job to evaluate others’ actions and lifestyle choices.
• Obey and move in faith. If you are a non-believer, try and obey God with faith, for that is where He shows up.

-Carly Caldwell

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